Summary of the day so far
It’s just past 10pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Nine aid trucks were authorised to enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing after 11 weeks of a complete blockade, a mere “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed”, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said on Monday. Five trucks carrying baby food and other desperately needed aid entered Gaza, according to the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, COGAT. The UN has long said Gaza needs at least 500 trucks every day.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the aid that would be let into Gaza would be “minimal” as he announced that Israel plans to take control of all of Gaza. The Israeli leader, in a video message on Monday, said while Israel was deploying “massive force to take control of all of the Gaza Strip … we cannot reach a point of starvation, for practical and diplomatic reasons.”
At least 136 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours, Gaza’s health ministry said on Monday. The overall Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza is now at 53,486, according to the ministry.
Two million people are starving in Gaza while tonnes of food are being blocked at the border “just minutes away”, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said. The WHO has said around a quarter of the 2.1m population in Gaza are facing “a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death” due to the Israeli blockade.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered residents living in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan to “evacuate immediately” ahead of an “unprecedented attack”. A statement from the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said Israeli forces “will launch an unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organisations in this area.”
Israel’s restarting of “minimal” aid deliveries to Gaza comes after the Trump administration warned it would “abandon” Israel if it did not end the war in Gaza, according to a Washington Post report. A US official later denied the report, claiming “the idea that we would abandon Israel is preposterous.”
The leaders of Britain, France and Canada threatened “further concrete actions” if Israel does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions. The statement by Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney on Monday condemns Israel’s expansion of military operations in Gaza as “wholly disproportionate”, adding that the “level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable”.
A joint statement by 22 countries demanded that Israel immediately “allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza”. Foreign ministers from countries including the UK, Australia and Germany also sharply rejected a reported Israeli plan to replace the previous system of delivering aid into Gaza.
The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, said that the situation in Gaza is “intolerable”. Starmer said: “It is a really serious, unacceptable, intolerable situation. That’s why we are working intensely to coordinate with other leaders how we respond to this.” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called for the blockade to be lifted, adding that “humanitarian aid must never been politicised.”
Israel’s hardline minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said Netanyahu is “making a grave mistake” by allowing any humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, which Israel has been blockading. Ben-Gvir said “any humanitarian aid that enters the Strip … will fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages languish in tunnels.”
The Israeli army targeted a warehouse storing medical supplies at the Nasser medical complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis on Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO), citing the hospital director, said about 30% of the warehouse as well as critical WHO supplies, including IV fluids and dialysis solutions were reportedly destroyed. The attack reportedly happened while Palestinians who were injured or killed in other Israeli airstrikes were being brought to the hospital.
A US official has denied a report citing an unnamed source who claimed the Trump administration would “abandon” Israel if it did not end the war in Gaza.
“The idea that we would abandon Israel is preposterous,” the US official said, according to the Times of Israel.
22 countries urge Israel to allow 'full resumption' of aid into Gaza
We reported earlier that the leaders of the UK, France and Canada issued a joint statement threatening “concrete actions” if Israel does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions.
A separate joint statement by 22 countries on Monday has demanded that Israel immediately “allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza”.
The statement came as the UN said nine aid trucks were authorised to enter Gaza, describing it as a “drop in the ocean” amid the territory’s humanitarian crisis.
“Whilst we acknowledge indications of a limited restart of aid, Israel blocked humanitarian aid entering Gaza for over two months,” the statement reads.
The statement sharply rejects a reported Israeli plan to replace the previous system of delivering aid into Gaza, noting that the UN and humanitarian partners have opposed the plan. The statement goes on:
We have two straightforward messages for the Government of Israel: allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza immediately and enable the UN and humanitarian organisations to work independently and impartially to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel will restart “minimal” aid deliveries to Gaza comes after public and behind-the-scenes pressure from the Trump administration, according to a report.
A source told the Washington Post:
Trump’s people are letting Israel know, ‘We will abandon you if you do not end this war.
An Israeli attack on Nasser hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis earlier today “severely damaged” a warehouse built by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the hospital director.
About 30% of the warehouse as well as critical WHO supplies, including IV fluids and dialysis solutions were reportedly destroyed.
An assessment by hospital management is underway to determine the full scale of the loss, the WHO said in a statement on X.
Amid critical shortages, escalating violence, and a rising number of casualties, this is a devastating blow that will cost lives.
WHO reiterates: Health care must be protected. Hospitals must never be militarized or targeted.
The joint statement by the leaders of Britain, France and Canada goes on to say that they oppose any attempt to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
It calls on Israel to stop these settlements, which the statement says are illegal and “undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
It says the three countries “will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions”.
The statement by Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney says they “strongly” support the efforts led by the US, Qatar and Egypt to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. “These negotiations need to succeed,” it says. The statement concludes:
We are committed to recognising a Palestinian state as a contribution to achieving a two-state solution and are prepared to work with others to this end.
UK, France and Canada threaten 'concrete actions' if Israel does not stop Gaza offensive
The leaders of Britain, France and Canada issued a joint statement on Monday warning that they will take “further concrete actions” if Israel does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions.
The statement by Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney condemns Israel’s expansion of military operations in Gaza as “wholly disproportionate”, adding that the “level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable”.
We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.
It describes the Israeli government’s “denial of essential humanitarian assistance” as “unacceptable” and says it risks breaching international humanitarian law. In addition, it condemns the “abhorrent” language used by Israeli politicians threatening civilians to relocate from Gaza.
The leaders called on the Israeli government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter the Palestinian territory.
The day so far
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said Israel cleared nine trucks of aid on Monday to enter Gaza through the Keren Shalom crossing after 11 weeks of a complete blockade, Reuters reported. “But it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed, and significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza, starting tomorrow morning,” Fletcher said in a statement.
An Israeli official says a shipment of flour, baby food and medical supplies will be allowed into Gaza. Eden Bar Tal, the foreign ministry’s director general, said the baby food had started entering, but there was no sign of any aid on the Gaza side of the border. He did not say how much aid would enter, where it would enter or when.
The aid that would be let into Gaza would be “minimal,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, without specifying precisely when it would resume. He said it would act as bridge toward the launch of a new aid system in Gaza, in which a US-backed organisation will distribute assistance in hubs that will be secured by the Israeli military.
Israel’s hardline minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has said that Benjamin Netanyahu is “making a grave mistake” by allowing any humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, which Israel has been blockading. Ben-Gvir said “The prime minister is making a grave mistake with this move. Any humanitarian aid that enters the Strip … will fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages languish in tunnels.”
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee has told residents living in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan to “evacuate immediately” ahead of an “unprecedented attack” he claims is targeting Hamas infrastructure. “The IDF will launch an unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organisations in this area,” he wrote in the social media post.
Gaza’s health ministry says 136 people have died in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours. The ministry says 136 bodies were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past 24 hours.
The head of a French medical humanitarian organisation operating in Gaza says the US-backed group expected to distribute aid in the besieged territory will be an accessory to a massive displacement of the Palestinian population as planned by Israel. Jean-Francois Corty, president of Medicins du Monde, a France-based medical humanitarian organisation, sharply criticised plans by Israel, backed by the US, to use a private contractor, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, to distribute aid in Gaza.
Khan Younis residents said Israeli special forces disguised as displaced Palestinians launched a rare ground raid into the city. The forces killed Ahmed Sarhan, a leader in the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, in a shootout, the group said. Palestinian witnesses said his wife and daughter were detained.
The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said that the situation in Gaza is “intolerable”. During a joint press conference with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Starmer said: “It is a really serious, unacceptable, intolerable situation. That’s why we are working intensely to coordinate with other leaders how we respond to this. We will continue to work in that way.”
Amnesty International has urged the US to investigate possible violations of international law in regards to a deadly airstrike on a migrant detention facility in Yemen last month, in which 68 African migrants were reported to have been killed. At the time, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which governs north-west Yemen, said the migrant centre in the city of Saada was under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Red Cross and targeting it constituted “a full-fledged war crime”.
UN aid chief says aid allowed into Gaza 'a drop in the ocean'
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said Israel cleared nine trucks of aid on Monday to enter Gaza through the Keren Shalom crossing after 11 weeks of a complete blockade, Reuters reported.
“But it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed, and significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza, starting tomorrow morning,” Fletcher said in a statement.
“To reduce looting, there must be a regular flow of aid, and humanitarians must be permitted to use multiple routes. Commercial goods should complement the humanitarian response,” he said.
The head of a French medical humanitarian organisation operating in Gaza says the US-backed group expected to distribute aid in the besieged territory will be an accessory to a massive displacement of the Palestinian population as planned by Israel.
Jean-Francois Corty, president of Medicins du Monde, a France-based medical humanitarian organsation, sharply criticised plans by Israel, backed by the US, to use a private contractor, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, to distribute aid in Gaza.
The plans, as they are known so far, involve setting up four distribution hubs where Palestinians would have to go to collect food guarded by armed private contractors and near Israeli military positions.
It appears three of the four hubs will be in Rafah in the far south of Gaza and one in central Gaza, meaning much of the population will have to move to Rafah to obtain aid. Israeli authorities have been pressing for Palestinians to evacuate south.
Corty said GHF is “operating for American and Israeli authorities” and is “working for this project to support the massive deportation of the population which is planned by these authorities.”
Displaced Palestinians flee from Khan Younis, Gaza.
Khan Younis residents said Israeli special forces disguised as displaced Palestinians launched a rare ground raid into the city.
The forces killed Ahmed Sarhan, a leader in the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, in a shootout, the group said. Palestinian witnesses said his wife and daughter were detained.
The forces drove in on a civilian vehicle and carried out the raid under cover from heavy airstrikes. At least five other people were killed, in addition to Sarhan, according to Nasser hospital.
An Israeli official says a shipment of flour, baby food and medical supplies will be allowed into Gaza.
Eden Bar Tal, the foreign ministry’s director general, said the baby food had started entering, but there was no sign of any aid on the Gaza side of the border. He did not say how much aid would enter, where it would enter or when.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would allow some aid to enter Gaza for the first time in nearly three months under pressure from Israel’s allies.
Aid groups say hunger is widespread and have warned of famine if Israel does not lift its blockade on Gaza’s 2m Palestinians.
The IDF told residents living in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan to “evacuate immediately” ahead of an “unprecedented attack” on Monday.
The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed the attack was targeting Hamas infrastructure and that the area would be considered a ‘dangerous combat zone’.
It comes a day after Israel allowed the entry of a ‘basic quantity’ of food into Gaza, after coming under international criticism over its 10-week blockade on food and humanitarian aid
Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee their homes after the Israeli military issued orders for evacuation from eastern Khan Younis.
The aid that would be let into Gaza would be “minimal,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, without specifying precisely when it would resume.
He said it would act as bridge toward the launch of a new aid system in Gaza, in which a US-backed organisation will distribute assistance in hubs that will be secured by the Israeli military.
Israel says the plan is meant to prevent Hamas from accessing aid, which Israel says it uses to bolster its rule in Gaza.
UN agencies and aid groups have rejected the plan, saying it won’t reach enough people and would weaponise aid in contravention of humanitarian principles. They have refused to take part in it.
A UN official said a shipment of 20 aid trucks carrying mostly food is expected to enter on Monday. The official was not authorised to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Gaza’s health ministry says 136 people have died in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours.
The ministry says 136 bodies were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past 24 hours.
The hospitals also received 364 wounded, according to the ministry’s daily report.
The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war is now at 53,486, said the ministry.
Sweden has criticised Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Israel intends to take control of all of the territory of Gaza.
AFP reports that Sweden’s foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, said:
If this means annexation, it is against international law. Sweden stands firm in its belief that Gaza’s territory must not be changed or reduced.
In our talks, we have repeatedly urged Israel’s government to allow unhindered humanitarian access and distribution in line with humanitarian principles.
A ceasefire and an end to hostilities are needed, and hostages must be released – not more statements or plans from the Israeli government that exacerbate the situation for civilians in Gaza.
Sweden recognised the Palestinian state in 2014.
Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing local medical sources, is reporting that 46 people have been killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza since dawn.
UK prime minister Starmer: situation in Gaza is 'intolerable'
The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said that the situation in Gaza is “intolerable”.
During a joint press conference with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Starmer said:
It is a really serious, unacceptable, intolerable situation. That’s why we are working intensely to coordinate with other leaders how we respond to this. We will continue to work in that way.
Von der Leyen also commented, saying:
For two months now, no humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza. Aid must reach civilians in need immediately, and the blockade must be lifted now. Humanitarian aid must never be politicised.
She called for a ceasefire and the release of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Here are some of the latest images from Gaza and Israel sent over the news wires.
Israel’s hardline minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has said that Benjamin Netanyahu is “making a grave mistake” by allowing any humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, which Israel has been blockading.
Ben-Gvir said “The prime minister is making a grave mistake with this move. Any humanitarian aid that enters the Strip … will fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages languish in tunnels.”
Earlier this year Ben-Gvir quit the government in protest at Israel reaching a hostage release and ceasefire deal, but returned when Israel resumed its military assault on the territory.
Ahmed Sarhan, a commander of the Popular Resistance Committees, a militant group allied with Hamas, was killed in a morning raid by undercover Israeli forces that entered the southern city of Khan Younis disguised as displaced people, according to medics.
Residents, according to Reuters, said Sarhan fought the force before he was killed, and that the Israelis detained his wife and children before retreating in a bus towards the eastern border with Gaza under a cover of fire from planes.
“As you see, they entered, opened a hole in the wall, entered the house and executed the father and took an 11-year-old child and his mother, and left,” said an eyewitness, Mohammed Sarhan, referring to the PRC commander.
Deadly US airstrike on Yemen migrant centre may constitute violation of international law - Amnesty
Some news about Yemen now. Amnesty International has urged the US to investigate possible violations of international law in regards to a deadly airstrike on a migrant detention facility in Yemen last month, in which 68 African migrants were reported to have been killed.
At the time, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which governs north-west Yemen, said the migrant centre in the city of Saada was under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Red Cross and targeting it constituted “a full-fledged war crime”.
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary-general, said that “the US attacked a well-known detention facility where the Houthis have been detaining migrants”.
To Callamard “the major loss of civilian life in this attack raises serious concerns about whether the US complied with its obligations under international humanitarian law”,
“The US must conduct a prompt, independent and transparent investigation into this airstrike,” she added.
The US had been conducting regular strikes against the Houthis, saying it was seeking to end the threat the group posed to vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
A ceasefire was reached early in May in which the Houthis agreed to stop targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, but said attacks against Israel would continue.
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WHO chief says ‘two million people are starving’ in Gaza while food is blocked at border
The director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said two million people were starving in the Gaza Strip while tonnes of food was being blocked at the border.
“Two million people are starving” while “tonnes of food is blocked at the border, just minutes away,” Ghebreyesus told the opening of the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
He added:
The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid.
The WHO has said around a quarter of the 2.1 million population in Gaza are facing “a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death” due to the Israeli blockade.
In a press release published last week, the organisation described the extreme food shortages as “one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time”.
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IDF tells Palestinians to evacuate Khan Younis ahead of 'unprecedented attack'
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee has told residents living in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan to “evacuate immediately” ahead of an “unprecedented attack” he claims is targeting Hamas infrastructure.
“The IDF will launch an unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations in this area,” he wrote in the social media post.
“You must evacuate immediately west to the Mawasi area. From this moment, Khan Younis governorate will be considered a dangerous combat zone. Terrorist organizations have brought you disaster. For your safety, evacuate immediately.”
The latest evacuation warning comes after Israel’s military issued a separate evacuation order for areas of central Gaza yesterday, as it continues with its expanded offensive across Gaza which is being accompanied by an intensified deadly bombing campaign.
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Former hostage Arbel Yehoud, a 29-year-old civilian from Kibbutz Nir Oz who was freed from captivity in January, has criticised the Israeli government’s plan for an expanded assault on Gaza and has urged fellow Israelis to call a general strike in response.
Speaking to the Israeli parliament’s constitution committee, she said:
You should know that when Gazans who were related to those who were holding me were injured by IDF actions, I would be badly beaten and sent to solitary confinement for long days with no food fit for human consumption and with a hygiene level comparable to concentration camps in the Holocaust…
Does it seem logical that I’m the one who needs to be here to shout for the freedom of my beloved Ariel (her partner), his brother David or the rest of the hostages…
Ministers and MK (members of the Knesset), look at me and see who you are abandoning and who you have chosen to sacrifice as a solution to the Gaza problem.
There are 58 Israeli citizens like me who are not just suffering but are also dying… Your hands will be covered in their blood and the blood of the soldiers if you do not stop this war.
As we have been reporting throughout today’s blog, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday Israel would ease its blockade and let limited amounts of food into Gaza.
Palestinian media said 50 trucks carrying flour, cooking oil and legumes would be allowed into the small coastal territory later on Monday, while Israeli media said nine trucks with baby food were expected to enter in coming hours.
Several trucks carrying humanitarian aid have been pictured at the Kerem Shalom crossing – which used to be a key point for the delivery of aid into Gaza – but no aid is thought to have actually been delivered yet.
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Netanyahu says Israel's 'greatest friends in the world' could not accept images of 'mass hunger'
Here are some more quotes from Benjamin Netanyahu’s video message.
Netanyahu admitted that Israel was “approaching the red line”, with senators and allies telling him they could not handle images of mass hunger.
Israel’s “greatest friends in the world,” he said without mentioning specific nationalities, had said there is “one thing we cannot stand. We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you.”
“Therefore to achieve victory, we need to somehow solve the problem,” the Israeli prime minister said.
The “greatest friends” reference is likely to include the US, Israel’s biggest arm supplier and a key ally in providing the increasingly isolated country diplomatic cover on the world stage.
On the final day of his Gulf tour last Friday, US president Donald Trump said people were starving in Gaza and the US would have the situation in the territory “taken care of”. European allies – including Germany and Britain – also voiced deepening concern over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza caused by the aid blockade.
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Israel will take control of all of Gaza, Netanyahu says
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has posted a video message on Telegram. Here is some of what he said:
Israeli forces will “take control of all” of the Gaza Strip. “The fighting is intense and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the Strip,” he said. “We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped.”
Israel must not let the population (of Gaza) sink into famine, both for “practical and diplomatic reasons”.
“In order to complete our victory, to defeat Hamas and free the hostages, we cannot reach a point of famine,” Netanyahu said, adding that images of famine in Gaza would have hindered his objectives.
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UN warns that 'everyone in Gaza is hungry' as it urges Israel to allow food aid into the territory
Charities have warned of a looming famine across Gaza caused by Israel’s food blockade, which has seen all shipments of humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, from entering the territory.
A UN-backed report recently estimated that one in five people in the territory were facing starvation.
In a post on X, the UN wrote this morning:
Everyone in Gaza is hungry. Without immediate action, nearly a quarter of the population could be pushed into famine. Food aid must be allowed into Gaza now to prevent a catastrophe.
Israeli attacks have reportedly killed over 20 Palestinians in Gaza since dawn
Palestinian news agency Wafa, meanwhile, reports that at least 23 Palestinian people have been killed since dawn in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
Rescuers said as many as 130 people, including many women and children, were killed in a wave of Israeli strikes overnight on Saturday and through Sunday on neighbourhoods in the north, centre and south of the territory.
The relentless bombing campaign came after Israel announced an intensification of its assault on Gaza late on Friday, in what it claimed was a fresh effort to force Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, to release hostages (an estimated 58 hostages remain in Gaza; up to 23 are believed to be alive).
So-called operation Gideon’s Chariot could lead to the seizure of swaths of Gaza and the displacement of much of the population to its south, in what would effectively amount to ethnic cleansing.
The Israeli military said yesterday there were five divisions operating in the Gaza Strip, aiming for “complete control” in “the places where we operate”. The civilian population would be moved from conflict areas, the military said.
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Israel bombs southern Gaza’s Nasser hospital - report
Al Jazeera is reporting that Israeli forces have bombed the pharmaceutical laboratory of the Nasser medical complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis after launching a barrage of air attacks on the city that killed at least six people.
The attack reportedly happened while Palestinian people who were injured or killed in other Israeli airstrikes were being brought to the hospital.
Israeli forces have targeted the Nasser hospital and its surroundings numerous times over the war.
Hospitals in Gaza say more than 100 Palestinian people were killed by Israeli attacks in the past day, with northern Gaza’s Indonesian hospital and the Jabalia refugee camp among the targets.
The territory’s health ministry yesterday accused Israel of “intensifying its systematic campaign to target hospitals”, after Israeli forces sieged the Indonesian hospital which was knocked out of service.
It was the main medical facility in the north after Israeli airstrikes last year forced the Kamal Adwan and Beit Hanoun hospitals to stop offering services.
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Following Israel’s announcement on aid yesterday, it was not immediately clear how much would be allowed in, or when, or how.
Aid workers are wrestling with moves by Israel and the US to impose a controversial new aid system, which would limit distribution to a few locations and put it under armed private contractors - to prevent theft by Hamas, Israel claims.
Humanitarian workers, however, say it won’t meet Gaza’s needs and violates humanitarian principles. The UN denies that significant aid diversion takes place.
The plan has also been described as unworkable, dangerous and potentially unlawful by aid agencies because it could lead to the forced mass transfer of populations.
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Israel says it will allow 'basic' amounts of food into Gaza after 11 week blockade
We are continuing the Guardian’s live coverage of developments in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel’s war on Gaza.
Israel decided on Sunday to resume the entry of a “basic quantity” of food into Gaza, after coming under increasing international pressure to lift its devastating blockade of the Strip, which has lasted for around 11 weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said:
On the recommendation of the IDF and based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas, Israel will allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip.
Israel imposed its blockade in early March, cutting off all supplies including food, medicine, shelter and fuel in what has been condemned as the collective punishment of the civilian population in Gaza.
Amid Israel’s blockade, most community kitchens have now shut down. The main food providers inside Gaza – the UN’s World Food Programme and World Central Kitchen — say they are out of food. Vegetables and meat are inaccessible or unaffordable. Crowds queue for hours for a small scoop of rice.
Axios cited two senior Israeli officials on Sunday saying that the resumption of aid flow will come through existing channels until a new mechanism is implemented.
It came after the Israeli army announced the start of an expanded assault on Gaza, describing “extensive ground operations” to seize “operational control” of swaths of the territory.
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